Fire fighters rescue two families from burning building in Sharjah

SHARJAH // Firefighters and civil defence teams rescued two families trapped in a residential building after an apartment in the six-storey block caught fire in Al Khan area on Wednesday.

In all 15 people suffered from smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion after a fire gutted the apartment.

One of the trapped families was a married couple and their three children, the other was a married couple, their five children and grandparents.

Fire and civil defence teams as well as ambulance vehicles were dispatched to the location after receiving a report on Wednesday at 5.10pm. Four people received treatment from ambulance teams and the remaining 11 were taken to Al Kuwaiti hospital.

“There was an infant among the second family, who as well as 10 others were referred to the hospital while four were treated in the ambulances,” said Col Abdullah Al Suwaidi, general director of Sharjah Civil Defence.

The fire consumed all the interior of the apartment, said Col Al Suwaidi. “Civil defence teams from Samnan and the port police stations, as well as the headquarters, headed to the location immediately. Also the immediate intervention team rushed to the location and found that the fire had started in one of the apartment’s AC units,” Col Al Suwaidi said.

He said that firefighters took almost an hour to bring the fire under control. A search revealed the two families trapped inside their apartments and suffocating from smoke inhalation.